Beyond Recycling - Tips to Reduce and Reuse

Recycling is a fundamentally important conservation concept that often dominates the conversation about how we can help the environment. Two other concepts, "Reduce" and "Reuse" actually provide a much higher return for the environment for the effort expended. If you are looking to take action beyond recycling, check out these easy things you can do at home and work that will help reduce waste, save energy and help the environment.

Reduce - Not creating waste in the first place

Waste prevention, also referred to as "source reduction," means changing habits to reduce the amount of trash created every day. Putting reduce into practice is one of the best ways to help your community decrease the amount of material that goes to the landfill. Here are a few tips to help make less garbage and save money and resources:

Shop with the Environment in Mind

- Buying in bulk is the best way to reduce packaging.

- Avoid purchasing items like juice boxes that have packaging that cannot be recycled.

- Get off junk mail lists. It takes 20 minutes to get rid of junk mail for two to five years. The Direct Marketing Association maintains a free, easy to use one-stop website that allows you to op-out of mail lists you no longer whish to be on. You are required to register to take advantage of this service. Click here to begin.

By putting these reduce strategies into practice you can:

Reduce the amount of waste going to landfills.

Conserve energy and other natural resources.

Create less pollution.

Save money.

Reuse - Time to rethink "just toss it."

Making smart decisions affect you and your family. Reusing items that are perfectly fine instead of buying new is better for the environment and easy on the pocketbook. Reusing reduces the amount of garbage in our landfills.

Here are some tips to incorporate the concept of "reuse" into your life:

Garage sales and thrift stores are treasure troves

Make a visit to your local thrift stores, you’d be surprised the treasures you can find at a price that can’t be beat. Besides, making your purchase at a thrift store often goes to help people in your community.

Garage sales are also great places to find gently used items for bargain basement prices.

Reusable water bottles

Don’t grab that bottled water, purchase a reusable water bottle and fill at your tap at home; you will save money and the environment. Many bottled water products are simply tap water in wasteful one-use packaging. In most cases, the quality of bottled water is no better and you pay a whole lot more.

Paper or plastic? Neither.

Bring some reusable shopping bags with you when you shop or better yet keep some in your car. Plastic bags often end up as litter in your community and can harm wildlife. Paper bags use a diminishing resource — trees. There is a wide variety of cheap and stylish reusable shopping bags now available at places you shop.

Local non-profit reuse stores

Habitat for Humanity's ReStore in Roseville is a discount building materials outlet. All store inventory is donated by area businesses and homeowners, and includes appliances, doors and windows, lighting fixtures, hardware and tools, flooring, furniture and more.